Sirius is Dog Star and brightest star | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Sirius is Dog Star and brightest star By Deborah Byrd in Brightest Stars | Science Wire | February 10, 2016 Sirius – in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog – is the sky’s brightest star. It’s very easy to spot on winter and spring evenings. The star Sirius and the nearby star cluster M41 caught on January 2, 2016 in Weatherly, Pennsylvania. Photo by Tom Wildoner at LeisurelyScientist.com The brightest star visible from any part of Earth is Sirius in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. Sirius is sometimes called the Dog Star. Follow the links below to learn more about Sirius, the Dog Star and brightest star. The Greater Dog looking super cute in this photo Tom Wildoner ! Brightest star is Sirius. Orion’s Belt points to Sirius How to see Sirius. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere notice Sirius in the southeast – south – or southwest on evenings from winter to mid-spring. February evenings are a grand time to see it. It’s also fun to spot Sirius as it ascends in the east before dawn on late summer mornings.

Whenever you see Sirius, you’ll recognize it easily because it is our sky’s brightest star. Although white to blue white in color, Sirius might be called a rainbow star, as it often flickers with many colors. The brightness, twinkling and color changes sometimes prompt first-time observers to report Sirius as a UFO. But these changes have nothing to do with Sirius. Rather, they are what happens when such a bright star as Sirius shines through the blanket of Earth’s atmosphere. The light from Sirius, which often appears fairly low in the sky from the mid-north latitudes, passes through a long column of air before it reaches our eyes. Changes in density and temperature of this air affect the light and cause the flickering and shimmering we see when we gaze at this star. This happens for other stars, too, but it is more noticeable for Sirius because it is so bright, and because it appears low in the sky. From the mid-northern latitudes such as most of the U.S., Sirius rises in the southeast, arcs across the southern sky, and sets in the southwest. In December, you’ll find Sirius rising in mid-evening. By mid-April, Sirius is setting in the southwest in mid-evening.

Sirius is always easy to find. It’s the sky’s brightest star! Plus, anyone familiar with the constellation Orion can simply draw a line through Orion’s Belt, to the left. This line will point to Sirius, which is roughly 8 times as far from the Belt as the Belt is wide. The Egyptian god Osiris History and mythology of Sirius. Sirius is also well known as the Dog Star, because it is the chief star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. Have you ever heard anyone speak of the dog days of summer? Sirius is behind the sun as seen from Earth in Northern Hemisphere summer. In late summer, it appears in the east before sunrise – near the sun in our sky. The early stargazers might have imagined that the double-whammy of Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather, or dog days. Sirius has been known since ancient times, and its name signified its nature as “scorching” or “sparkling.” It was associated with the Egyptian god Osiris and other gods. Ancient Egyptians noted that Sirius rose just before the sun each year immediately prior to the annual flooding of the Nile River. Although the floods could bring destruction, they also brought new soil and new life.

Fittingly, Osiris, whom Sirius may have represented, was a god of life, death, fertility and rebirth of plant life along the Nile. In India, Sirius is sometimes known as Svana, the dog of Prince Yudhistira. The prince and his four brothers, along with Svana, set out on a long and arduous journey to find the kingdom of heaven. However, one by one the brothers all abandoned the search until only Yudhistira and Svana were left. At long last they came to the gates of heaven. The gatekeeper, Lord Indra, welcomed the prince but denied Svana entrance. Yudhistira was aghast and told Lord Indra that he could not forsake his good and faithful servant and friend. His brothers, Yudhistira told the Lord, had abandoned the journey to heaven to follow their hearts’ desires. But Svana, who had given his heart freely, chose to follow none but Yudhistira. The prince told the Lord that without his dog, he would forsake even heaven. This is what Lord Indra had wanted to hear, and then he welcomed both the prince and the dog through the gates of heaven.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius A, the brightest star in our night sky, along with Sirius B, its faint, tiny stellar companion. Sirius B is the faint, tiny dot at the lower left. Sir. Image credit: H. Bond (STScI) and M. Barstow (University of Leicester) Sirius science. Magnitude is a star’s brightness expressed by a number. The smaller the number, the brighter the star. The visual magnitude of Sirius is -1.44, lower than any other star. It is 3.5 times brighter than Arcturus in Bootes, the next brightest star easily visible from the northern hemisphere. There are brighter stars in terms of actual energy and light output, but they are farther away and hence dimmer. Normally, the only objects that outshine Sirius in our heavens are the sun, moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury (and usually Sirius outshines the latter two!). The next brightest star (Canopus) after Sirius, and the closest major star (Alpha Centauri) are both too far south in the sky to be easily seen from mid-north latitudes.

At 8.6 light-years distance, Sirius is one of the nearest stars to us after the sun. (A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles!) In fact it is the nearest star easily visible to the unaided eye from most of the northern hemisphere. Classified by astronomers as an “A” type star, it is much hotter than our sun, with about surface about 17,000 degrees F (the sun is about 10,000 degrees F). With slightly more than twice the mass of the sun and just less than twice its diameter, Sirius still puts out 26 times as much energy. It is considered a normal (main sequence) star, meaning that it produces most of its energy by converting hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion. Sirius has a small, faint companion star appropriately called The Pup. That name signifies youth, but in fact the companion to Sirius is a dead star called a white dwarf. Once a mighty star, today The Pup is an Earth-sized ember too faint to be seen without a telescope. The position of Sirius is RA: 06h 45m 08.9s, dec:-16° 42′ 58″.

Image Credit: Yuuji Kitahara Sirius: Brightest Star in Earth's Night Sky Sirius: Brightest Star in Earth's Night Sky By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | June 24, 2013 06:07pm ET MORE Follow the belt of Orion to find Sirius. Credit: Starry Night Software Sirius, also known as the Dog Star or Sirius A, is the brightest star in Earth's night sky. The name means "glowing" in Greek. With a visual magnitude of -1.46, the star is outshone only by several planets as well as the International Space Station. Because Sirius is so bright, it was well-known to the ancients. What came as a surprise to astronomers was the discovery of a companion star, Sirius B, in 1862. The companion is so much dimmer than Sirius — 10,000 times, in fact — that it wasn't until 2005 that astronomers were able to estimate its mass. Locating Sirius Sirius is highly visible in the Northern Hemisphere winter night sky because it has a high relative luminosity to other stars, and it's relatively close to Earth (8.6 light-years).

If the star were placed next to Earth's sun, Sirius would outshine it more than 20 times over. To find Sirius, use the belt of Orion as a pointer. The three stars point downward toward Sirius to the left. To be more precise, the position of Sirius is: Right Ascension: 06h 45m 08.9s Declination: -16 degrees 42 minutes 58 seconds Though they look serene and silent from our vantage on Earth, stars are actually roiling balls of violent plasma. Test your stellar smarts with this quiz. Photograph of Sirius A, the brightest star in our nighttime sky, along with its faint, tiny stellar companion, Sirius B. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Bond (STScI), and M. Barstow (University of Leicester) Sirius in history Today, Sirius is nicknamed the "Dog Star" because it is part of the constellation Canis Major — Latin for "the greater dog." The expression "dog days" refers to the period from July 3 through Aug. 11 when Sirius rises in conjunction with the sun.

The ancients felt that the combination of the sun during the day and the star at night was responsible for the extreme heat that is experienced during mid-summer. The star is present in ancient astronomical records of the Greeks, Polynesians and several other cultures. Perhaps most notably, the Egyptians based their calendar on when Sirius was first visible in the eastern sky, shortly before sunrise. They called it the "Nile Star" because it always returned just before the river rose, and so announced the coming of floodwaters, which would renourish their lands. In 1718, Edmond Halley — when studying Sirius and other stars — discovered that stars have "proper motion" relative to one another . Then in 1862, Alvan Graham Clark discovered Sirius had a faint companion, now known as Sirius B . Recent observations In 2005, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope precisely measured the mass of Sirius B for the first time — a mass that is 98 percent that of the sun , NASA stated. The scientists used a spectrometer aboard the orbiting telescope to measure how its light is affected by gravity on the star.

Previous attempts with ground-based observatories were foiled because Sirius itself is so bright, and along with the Earth's atmosphere spreading its light, it washed out its fainter companion (which is a white dwarf ). Astronomers have struggled to confirm a few older measurements of Sirius' system. One 1994 paper in Astronomy and Astrophysics suggested the binary system could actually have a third, tiny companion that rotates around Sirius every six years. Observations in 2008 with a European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope, however, revealed nothing . Some have suggested that Sirius was much redder in the past, based on ancient accounts that described the star as red. Among them was Greek astronomy Claudius Ptolemy in A.D. 150. "There is no doubt about what Ptolemy means. He bluntly says "reddish, and other ancient sources corroborate him," wrote the University of Houston's R.C. Ceragioli in 1995. However, since the matter first received serious attention at the Royal Society in 1760, astronomers have been unable to explain the discrepancy.

The stars would not have evolved so quickly in a few thousand years, but there could be effects from the theoretical third companion. Or, some say, observers could have been describing how Sirius appears when it is close to the horizon and the most affected by Earth's atmosphere. — Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor Very bright star in the east at northern hemisphere. What is it? - Astronomy Stack Exchange Very bright star in the east at northern hemisphere. What is it? up vote 6 down vote favorite 2 From some time now (few weeks as far as I can remember), there is a very bright star in the eastern sky. I first thought it was Venus, but according to this link , Venus is in the western sky and sets 2 hours after sunset. But this (very) bright star is still up even though it's midnight (6 hours after sunset). Does anyone know what is this star (or planet) ? Please excuse my silly question as I know nothing about astronomy. Thanks.

If you have a smartphone or a tablet with a built in compass and possibly also a gyroscope (but not necessary), then the easiest to identify a celestial object would be in my opinion to install one of the skymap apps and simply point your device towards the object you're interested in. For example, I find Sky Map + to be quite useful for such tasks, once you set its sensor sensitivity up properly. It also has night mode and finger gestures to zoom in and out. Play with setting a bit which objects it displays to remove clutter. ;) – TildalWave Oct 19 '13 at 16:06 1 Very good point. Problem is I got to find a smartphone first lol. Thanks :) – ahmed Oct 19 '13 at 17:08 The link provided is for a regularly updated page which describes (among other things) the current position of Venus. It no longer describes the position of Venus at the time the question was asked. – Jeremy Mar 25 '14 at 21:01 I see it as well. September 13 it seems like it has more magnitude.

I leave for work at 5 am while the night sky is out in North Dakota, USA, Northern Hemisphere – user9185 Sep 14 '15 at 2:16 up vote 6 down vote It will be very difficult to tell you without knowing where you are located. Particularly, if you are in the northern or southern hemisphere. At this time of year, most of the brightest stars are in the sky. Also where in the sky, the particular star that you are wondering about is. And any other constellations that you can identify. For stars rising this time of year, particularly bright ones you might be thinking of Sirius. Which would be near the constellation Orion below the hourglass shape of the it ( ). Another possibility would be Aldebaran, it is located in a "V" shape of stars that make up the constellation Taurus. To find out I would take a look at some of the online star charts that are available for your time and location. That will give you a good idea of what you are seeing. Here is a list of some online: Thanks for the links.

I will try to figure out what star is that and I'll update with an answer as soon as possible :) – ahmed Oct 19 '13 at 12:01 up vote 3 down vote As other people have pointed out, it is hard to work out which star it is, without knowing your general location. However, after checking on Stellarium, there seem to be a couple of likely suspects: Sirius - the brightest star in the sky. I've seen it myself - and on a good, dark night, it can really stand out. Jupiter - the king of the planets is also rising at about the same time. It is brighter than any star in the sky, by a wide margin (though fainter than Venus), and it can really stand out. Other than that, there aren't really that many objects rising in the East at the time you specify that could really stand out. There are a couple of useful ways to tell the two apart: Sirius is a bright white object - perhaps with a subtle bluish tinge to it, whereas Jupiter has a slight yellow tint to it.

Jupiter is currently rising in the North-East, and can get very high in the sky at the moment from the northern hemisphere, whereas Sirius rises in the South-East, and doesn't get that high (though that does depend on location). Sirius tends to twinkle, and 'flicker', as its light is disturbed by air currents, whereas Jupiter remains very steady - perhaps not twinkling at all. As mentioned earlier, the best method is usually to use software like Stellarium , which will tell you exactly where everything is, and hopefully give you a definitive answer to which object it is. Know, know know, kno-know, know your brightest stars! – Starts With A Bang Nobody but me – The Human Beinz If you’re only a casual watcher of the night sky, you might have no idea what the brightest stars are. Sure, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you probably recognize the Big Dipper, the bright stars in the constellation Orion (particularly the “belt”), the Pleiades, otherwise known as the Seven Sisters, and Cassiopeia, the giant “W”.

And if you’re farther south, you probably know the extraordinarily bright Canis Major (big dog), as well as the Southern Cross and the two Pointer stars, which help you find the South Celestial Pole . If you’ve been coming by for a while, you probably also know that we classify stars into seven different types, based on how intrinsically bright and blue they are: O B A F G K and M. The brightest stars are also the rarest ones — only about 0.2% of stars are O or B stars — and while you might have heard that our Sun, a G-type star, is pretty common, we’re actually brighter than about 95% of the stars in the sky! Why’s that? Because 3 out of every 4 stars are M-stars: red dwarfs. But this doesn’t mean that the ones that appear brightest have to actually be intrinsically bright; they could just be close to us! So what’s more important, brightness or closeness? Let’s learn what the brightest stars are! (Not including the Sun, obviously!) Sirius , found in the constellation of the big dog (Canis Major), is by far the brightest star in the night sky.

It’s close — only 8.7 light years away — it’s bright, being an A star, and it’s so bright that it often outshines many of the planets. But the second brightest? Unless you live in the South of Africa, South America, or New Zealand, you probably don’t know well at all. (Those are the only locations where it’s always visible.) Although it’s less than half as bright as Sirius, Canopus is over 300 light years away! But Canopus is quite far south, sort of isolated in the sky from other bright stars, and practically invisible to the Northern Hemisphere. But I bet you know #3, even if you’ve never seen it. Alpha Centauri , at just 4.4 light years away, is the same type of star as our Sun. But it’s the closest bright star to us, and (combined with its binary companion) appears to be the 3rd brightest star in the sky! We’ve already seen this, of course: Alpha Centauri is the brighter of the two “pointer” stars that help you find the South Celestial Pole!

You’ve got to be asking yourself, then, what the deal is with that “other” pointer star? Believe it or not, Beta Centauri , the slightly dimmer, blue one, is #10 in brightness in the sky! But it couldn’t be more different. One of the most intrinsically bright stars, Beta Centauri is one of the brightest B-stars we have, and is located (depending on who you ask) up to 500+ light years away! But what about those of us stuck up here in the Northern Hemisphere? What do we get? Well, we’ve got the orange giant, Arcturus , which is well known for being a “runaway” star, not gravitationally bound to any of the stars around it, and coming in at #4 in brightness in the night sky. (Being a giant star, it matters less that it’s a cool, K star.) And in the Summer, the Northern Hemisphere gets the following constellation: The Summer Triangle ! Consisting of Vega, the #5 star, Altair (#12), and Deneb (#19) — all blue A stars — you’ll know it when you see it.

But what about those constellations you know so well? Do they have anything worth mentioning? Well, the Big Dipper’s brightest star only comes in at #33 , and Cassiopeia’s brightest only lands at #67 . But Orion is a true gem. The brightest blue star, Rigel , is a whopping 770 light years away: a blue supergiant — a B-star — and the sixth brightest overall. The super bright red star is Betelgeuse , the red supergiant — an M-star — 640 light years away, and the eighth brightest star in the sky. And on the same side of the belt as Betelgeuse is Bellatrix (thanks, @1 and @2), which comes in at #27, pretty impressive in its own right! But Orion’s belt also features three ultra-bright, blue stars. Mintaka , Alnilam and Alnitak are all blue supergiants. Mintaka is actually a double star, although is less remarkable at “only” #62, which still makes it brighter than all the stars in Cassiopeia!

Alnilam and Alnitak, however, weigh in at #30 and #31 in brightness, respectively. While Mintaka and Alnilam are (primarily) bright B-stars, Alnitak is the rarest (and bluest) of all the star types: a Class O-star ! Alnitak has the distinction of being the brightest and closest O-star that we know of, as seen from us here on Earth. The flame nebula, shown above, is actually lit up like it is because of Alnitak! This isn’t all of them, of course, but those are some of the more remarkable bright stars in the night sky; some are cool, some are hot, some are blue (or UV) and some are red, some are near and normal, some are distant and spectacular. But all of them give off light that travels years through space, reaches our eyes, and appears as just a slightly brighter point to us than the rest of space around it. And those are our brightest stars!

THE SKY: BRIGHT STAR LIST 16 BRIGHTEST STARS (Visible in the Northern Hemisphere) APPARENT STAR DIST BRIGHTNESS LUMINOSITY Temperature TYPE (LY) (Sun at (Sun = 1) of Surface(K) 32.6 LY=1) 1. Sirius 8.7 310 2.3x101 10,000 Bluish Main Sequence + White Dwarf 2. Arcturus 36 86 7.6x101 3,900 Reddish Giant 3. Vega 27 80 5.2x101 11,000 Bluish Main Sequence 4. Capella 45 76 1.3x102 5,200 Whitish Giant 5. Rigel 900 74 8.9x104 12,000 Bluish Super Giant 6. Procyon 11 59 7.6x100 6,500 Whitish Main Sequence + White Dwarf 7.

Betelgeuse 520 57 2.0x104 3,300 Reddish Giant 8. Altair 16 41 1.0x101 8,500 Bluish Main Sequence 9. Aldebaran 68 39 6.9x102 3,800 Reddish Giant 10. Spica 220 34 1.9x103 20,000 Bluish Main Sequence 11. Antares 520 35 3.6x103 3,000 Reddish Giant 12. Pollux 35 29 3.6x101 4,100 Reddish Giant 13. Fomalhaut 23 28 1.2x101 9,100 Bluish Main Sequence 14. Deneb 1600 26 5.3x104 9,100 Bluish Super Giant 15.

Regulus 85 24 1.5x102 13,000 Bluish Main Sequence 16. Castor 45 20 5.3x101 10,000 Whitish Main Sequence NOTE: 101= 10, 102 = 100 etc. This page has been accessed times. Getting to Know the Night Sky: The Northern Hemisphere : Articles : SummitPost Getting to Know the Night Sky Images Getting to Know the Night Sky Getting to know the night sky is fun, easy and can provide you with a wealth of knowledge in regard to navigation at night. This article focuses on the northern hemisphere only. It wont be long until I post on the southern hemisphere. Even memorizing the shapes of the constellations and then locating them in the night sky can be rewarding. If you're out in the wilderness, take a moment one night to look up at the sky and marvel at its wonder. Stars millions of light years away, gallaxies and nebulas - the night sky provides enough detail to keep the mind wandering for hours.

This article covers most of the northern hemisphere's constellation and goes into detail about particular stars and their magnitudes, colors and degrees above the horizon line at peak. Other miscelaneous information, such as angular separation (distance) from star to star can be found as well. Bellow I show a simple method to count degrees in the sky and I am happy to take questions about the method if it is not understood. A Shot I Took of the Big Dipper It is important to note that all angles (measured in degrees (°)) of a star's relative position to the north or south horizon are taken from a latitude of 41° North, throughout the article. There is excellent chance you will not be viewing the night sky from this latitude. If this is the case, simply type into google the name of your location along with "latitude and longitude" and you will get an appropriate measurement. You can then further adjust the angles based on the difference between your latitude and 41°N latitude. If you are south of 41°N latitude you will adjust by subtracting that number of degrees from the star "heights" I've listed. Add the difference if you are north of 41°N latitude.

There will be some error using this method but it gives you a good estimate and a close enough number for determining angles above horizons. Also important to note. This is not a piece about astrology and constellation interpretations. Though I do touch upon a few astrology facts to make the article a bit more interesting, my intentions are to provide a piece that can educate the summitpost community about the constellations and objects in the night sky. All constellation pictures were taken from a computer program I received with an Astronomy textbook in college called "The Sky." I drew in the lines of the constellations in Microsoft Paint to make them easier to see. Circumpolar Constellations and stars: Circumpolar constellations and stars are those that circle around the celestial pole/the North Star (Polaris) which never set or fall bellow the horizon line. They will always move in counter clockwise motions around Polaris and will always be visible at night provided no obstacles get in the way – such as trees, mountains, buildings or ambient light. There are five major constellations that travel round Polaris. They are: Twilight in Joshua Tree - Ursa Major – The Big Bear - This is the constellation that houses the ever famous Big Dipper!

- Ursa Minor – The Little Bear - Cassiopeia – The Queen of Ethiopia - Cepheus – The King of Ethiopia - Draco – The Dragon By familiarizing yourself with these five circumpolar constellations one will always have a guaranteed way of finding the North Star on a clear night. It is important to note that the North Star, despite common belief, is NOT the brightest star in the sky. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and rises during the winter months. In fact, the North Star is only a 1.97 magnitude in brightness. The “lower” the number in magnitude, the brighter the star, planet, nebula, galaxy, etc. The moon, for example, is -26 in magnitude. Sirius is -1.44 in magnitude. Planets such as Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are bright as well and can often be confused as stars. So, this talk about magnitude may not mean much to someone who hasn’t taken entry-level astronomy but it is important to understand that the North Star can be difficult to find if you’re under the belief that it is a bright star.

Perhaps the easiest way to find the North Star is to take the two front stars of the Big Dipper (Dubhe and Merak) and draw a line towards the North Star. This method is shown Bellow: Finding Polaris with the Big Dipper The angular separation between the Big Dipper (the Star Dubhe) and Polaris is 28°. However, if the Big Dipper happens to be in the lower sections of the celestial circle, perhaps behind some trees, there are other ways to find the North Star. First, try to find the other circumpolar constellations. Once you have done this, you’ll know the general direction of north and you can then use your fingers to count upwards in degrees (°) from a level horizon. This method is particularly useful in night navigation. By locating a circumpolar constellation such as Cassiopeia and then counting upwards in degrees, one will never fail to find the North Star. However, it is important to note that your location in the northern hemisphere will change the angle between the horizon line and the position of polaris in the sky. For instance, the amount of degrees between the horizon and Polaris will be dramatically different in Alaska than in Florida.

*Bellow I've added Polaris' altitude in degrees from certain places in the United States. This should give you a good, general idea about the altitude of Polaris from your location. Now, to count up in degrees towards Polaris, hold your arm out directly in front of you with your eyes looking down your arm as if you were holding a gun. Then make the following formation with your fingers... Determining Altitude in Degrees with your Hand Now place your pinky (little) finger level with the horizon. The distance between your little finger and your index finger is approximately 10°. Thus, you can count up in degrees by using this method. If you know roughly how high Polaris is in the sky, this method will give you a general idea of where the North Star falls on that degree line in the sky. *List of Cites in the United States and the postion (altitude) of Polaris in degrees (°) and measurments of North Latitude. The similarity between altitude and north latitude is only a coincidence so don't use north latitude for altitude measurments.

Albuquerque, NM - 35° - 35°N Latitude Alexandria, VA - 39° - 38°N Latitude Anaheim, CA - 34° - 33°N Latitude Anchorage, AK - 61° - 61°N Latitude Atlanta, GA - 34° - 33°N Latitude Baltimore, MD - 39° - 39°N Latitude Bangor, MA - 45° - 44°N Latitude Birmingham, AL - 33° - 33°N Latitude Boston, MA - 42° - 42°N Latitude Boulder, CO - 40° - 40°N Latitude Burtlington, VT - 44° - 44°N Latitude Chicago, IL - 42° - 41°N Latitude Dallas, TX - 33° - 32°N Latitude Daytona Beach, FL - 29° - 29°N Latitude Eugene, OR - 44° - 44°N Latitude Great Fall, MO - 47° - 47°N Latitude Kalamazoo, MI - 4

2° - 42°N Latitude Las Vegas, NV - 36° - 36°N Latitude Los Angeles, CA - 34° - 34°N Latitude Milwaukee, WI - 43° - 43°N Latitude New York, NY - 41° - 40°N Latitude Omaha, NE - 41° - 41°N Latitude San Francisco, CA - 38° - 37°N Latitude Sioux Falls, SD - 38° - 43°N Latitude The Constellations Ursa Minor, seen bellow, is typically a difficult constellation to see in areas polluted by light.

Commonly called the "Little Dipper," the constellation is home to the most famous star in the sky - the North Star (Polaris). Polaris, the star of the tip of the constellation (the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper), is the Alpha star at 1.97 magnitude and Kochab the Beta star at 2.06 in magnitude. It’s tough to do, but for more approximate measures of north, don’t confuse Polaris and Kochab which are very similar in magnitude (brightness) and relatively close together in the the sky. The angular separation of Polaris and Kochab is 16°. Ursa Minor Ursa Major, see bellow, is a rather large constellation but the most important part, and the most well known part of the constellation is the Big Dipper. The two brightest stars in the constellation are Alioth, the Alpha star at 1.76 magnitude and Dubhe, the Beta star at 1.81 magnitude. One intersting fact about the Big Dipper - If you look at the second star in from the tip of the handle, that is actually two stars!

The brighter of the two is an unnamed star (SAO 23788) at 2.23 magnitude and the less bright star is named Alcor and is 3.99 in magnitude. Both are relatively young (in terms of time in the Universe) but incredilby hot, white stars. Ursa Major Cassiopeia, see bellow, can look like an “M” or a “W” depending on its relative position to Polaris. The less bright stars of the constellation, those which are not part of the "M" or "W", are difficult to see in both well lit areas and dark areas – they tend to blend with the rest of the sky/stars in darker areas. The Alpha star is Navi at 2.15 magnitude and the Beta star, Shedar, is slightly less bright at 2.24 magnitude. Navi is the middle star in both the "M" and the "W" and Shedar is the upper right star in the "M" or the lower left star in the "W", depending on its position. The second picture directly bellow highlights the "M/W" in yellow.

Always remember that the "inside" of the "M/W" always points towards Polaris. Cassiopeia The "M/W" in Cassiopeia Cepheus, see bellow, is most describable as a “house” although thats not what it represents in astrology. There are five major stars in the constellation. Alderamin is the Alpha star at 2.45 magnitude and Errai is the Beta star at 3.21 magnitude. They are on opposites ends of the constellation. Cepheus is never difficult to locate as it lies directly in between Cassiopeia and Draco. The "top" of the house's roof, the star Errai, always points in the general direction of Polaris, but never directly at it and is roughly 11° away from Polaris. Another easy way to locate the North Star, if you can find Cepheus, is to draw a line through Alderamin and the star Alfirk towards Polaris. This method is show in the second picture directly bellow. Cepheus Finding Polaris with Cepheus The Draco constellation, see bellow, is perhaps the less well known circumpolar constellation.

Although, it is the largest of all the circumpolar constellations, its stars are often difficult to find in areas polutted by light and even in dark skies when the constellation blends in with other stars. However, it’s Alpha Star, Eltanin, is easily seen at 2.24 magnitude. Draco Of Note - Generally, those who are at a position on the earth where the angle between the horizon and Polaris is less than 40° will see circumpolar constellations dip bellow the horizon line. However, they will never appear to rise in the east and set in the west and will still appear to circumnavigate Polaris. If you find this horizonal effect confusing, simply note that the circumpolar constellations at the lower latitudes are rising of the extreme northeast horizon and setting over the extreme northwest horizon - not the east and west horizons. To further clarify any questions about why stars "rise" and "set," they do this simply because the earth rotates about its axis from west to east. Thus, the stars sweep the sky in an east to west manner.

This is also why the east sees sunlight before the west - because the eastern portions of the Earth comes into sunlight before the western portions. Non-Circumpolar Constellations and Stars/East-West Stars: There are other stars and constellations that will help you better identify east, west and south as they rise over the eastern horizon and set in the west – like the sun. Of particular interest and perhaps the most famous constellation is the Orion constellation which rises only in the winter – perhaps you’ve heard of Orion’s Belt, well, that’s part of the Orion constellation. Orion is a large constellation and houses a nebula that is visible to the naked eye! Rigel is the Alpha star at .18 magnitude and is the lowest star on the right side of the constellation. Betelgeuse, pronounced "Bettle Juice," is the Beta star at .45 magnitude and lies in the upper left portion of the constellation. It is an old, dying star and is dark orange in color. The Great Orion Nebula, magnitude 4.00, is seen in Orion's sword bellow Orion's belt. Orions Belt is perhaps more famous that the entire Orion constellation itself.

The three stars, from left to right, are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. All three draw their names from anchient muslim texts, as do many other stars. At its peak, directly about south, Betelgeuse will be 53° above the horizon and Rigel will be roughly 39° above the horizon at a 41° latidude. The times the Orion constellation peaks directly above south will differ every day as the winter season progresses. However, if Orion appears to be directly upright and Betelgeuse and Rigel are at roughly 53° and 39°, you'll know you're looking/heading south. Orion A List of Non-Circumpolar Constellations These are just a few of the major non-circumpolar constellations in the northern hemisphere. The non-circumpolar constellations are covered in more depth in the section bellow titled "The Seasons," as these constellations reach their peak in different months of the year.

- Orion - Aquila - Scorpius - Sagittarius - Lyra - Cygnus - Hercules - Perseus - Auriga - Pegasus - Bootes - Leo - Corona Borealis - Pegasus - Andromeda Of Note - Generally, those who are at a position on the earth where the angle between the horizon and Polaris is greater than 35° are not likely to ever see Sagittarius or Scorpius as these constellations will never crest the south horizon. The Seasonal Constellations: Don’t expect to see the same stars out during winter that you see in summer. Those winter constellations, such as Orion, rise during daylight hours in the summer. Other constellation, such as Aquilla the Eagle, only rise during the night hours in the summer and never in winter. It is intersting to note that astrologists believe the Orion constellation to be shooting an arrow at Aquilla the Eagle. Orion rises in the winter months, the arrow in the springs months and the Aquilla constellation rises in the summer months. I've never quite "clicked" with astrology but its still interesting to think about how greatly it has influence cultures around the globe.

Seasonal Star Formations - Not Constellations One formation of stars, created with three stars from three different constellations, appears only during the summer months and is known as the “summer triangle.” The stars Vega at magnitude .03 of the Lyra constellation, Altair at magnitude .76 of the Aquila constellation and Deneb at 1.25 magnitude of the Cygnus constellation, make up the formation. They are the three brightest stars in the sky during the summer months and are very easy to pick out. Although this formation wont give you a good general direction, it will be able to tell you which way is up! :) The angular separation between Altair and Vega is 34°, between Vega and Deneb is 23° and between Deneb and Altair is 38°. In the picture bellow, Altair is the lowest star in the triangle, Vega is the upper right star and Deneb the upper left.

The Summer Triangle The Notable Five Summer Constellations: - Cygnus - Lyra - Aquila - Sagittarius - Scorpius Aquila, the "Eagle," is a notable summer constellation as its Alpha star Altair, as previously explained, is one of the three points of the summer triangle. Bellow is a picture of the Aquila although it should be mentioned that there are two other ways the constellation can be seen which utilizes other stars. However, this is the most basic. Included in the picture is the constellation Scutum, a simple formation of only two stars in the lower right portion of the Aquila constellation (the two stars farthest to the right). Some astronomers do not like to combine the two constellations. However, when Aquila is at its peak directly above south, the Alpha star Altair will be 56° above the horizon and the lowest star in the constellation, known as SAO 142931 (unnamed) will be 41° high. Aquilla Cygnus, the "Swan," is an easily recognizable constellation.

It looks more like a cross that an swan, especially in areas with light pollution when it becomes harder to see the less bright stars the break away from the main cross. The Alpha star is Deneb and the Beta star is Sadr at 2.23 magnitude. At its peak above south, Deneb will be 93° above the south horizon (85° above the north horizon) and Sadr will be 88° high. This constellation is difficult to use for navigation as it is closer to the zenith (90°) than it is to a horizon. Cygnus Lyra is a smaller constellation when compared to others and can often be difficult to find in areas with light pollution. If it were not for its Alpha star Vega, this constellation would often be overlooked. Beyond it are no objects of interest such as galaxies, star clusters or nebulas which are common in many other constellations. At its peak above south Lyra, like Cygnus, is close to the zenith and its Alpha star Vega will be 87° above the south horizon.

Lyra Sagittarius is a constellation that is typically better seen in the southern hemisphere, although it can be seen at the far southern portions of the northern hemisphere as well. It's Alpha star, Kaus Australis is 1.79 in magnitude and will be roughly 22° above the southern horizon at it's peak. If you live above the imaginary line that stretches from Las Vegas westward to the Pacific Ocean and eastward to Dallas then Birmingham and beyond, don't expect to see Sagittarius. Even in southern portions of the northern hemisphere, obstacles such as trees and mountains prevent this constallation from being seen. And yes...it does look like a teapot. Sagittarius The Scorpius constellation, like Sagittarius, is rare in the northern hemisphere. Don't count on seeing this constellation and using it as a navigation aid. Its brightest star, Antares, is a magnitude 1.06 and will be 30° above the south horizon at its peak directly above south. Still important to note - the times different constellations peak above south will change every night as the seasons progress.

Scorpius The Notable Seven Winter Constellations: - Orion - Canis Major - Canis Minor - Gemini - Auriga - Taurus - Perseus Note - I've combined the Autumn and Winter constellations. Perseus is the only notable Autumn constellation. Taurus "The Bull," just to the right of Orion, houses the Star Aldebaran. Aldebaran is a star commonly used for night-time navigation as it is incredibly easy to see and its orange color makes it more notable than other stars. Aldebaran has a magniutude of .87 and will be roughly 63° above the south horizon at its peak. The angular separation between Aldebaran and Betelgeuse (Orion's bright oragne star) is 21°. Taurus Auriga, an easily found constellation lies high in the sky above Orion and Taurus. Its Alpha star, Capella, at .08 magnitude is bright and easily notable. It has a dark oragne color and forms the top corner of the less famous "Winter Triangle" formation (Capella, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran).

At its peak above the southern horizon it rises 85° in altitude. Next to Auriga is Gemini. Known as "The Twins," it is a less famous constellation and can be tough to see as it blends in well with the rest of the night sky. Simply note that it too lies above and slightly to the east of Orion and Taurus. Pollux, its Alpha star is 1.15 in magnitude and Castor, the Beta star is 1.58 magnitude. Pollux will be 73° above the southern horizon at its peak from 41°N latitude. Yet another "high in the sky" constellation that wont be very helpful for pointing you in any direction but up. Auriga Gemini Canis Major, a constellation that actually looks like what its name implies. Its a canine... Seen bellow and to the east of Orion, you wont have trouble identifying this one. And yes, that giant white star you see is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky! At -1.44 magnitude, Sirius is the Alpha star of Canis Major. It rises 31° in altitude above the southern horizon. You'll know you're heading south when you see this one at its peak.

Don't confuse Sirius for a planet, however. Canis Major I have ommitted Canis Minor as it is a simple 2 star constellation. It lies above and to the east of Canis Major. Perseus is a zenith constellation as it rises high in the sky directly above Taurus and to the west of Auriga. Its Alpha star, Mirfak, is 1.79 in magnitude and it rises 81° above the north horizon. Mirfak's angular distance (separation) from Taurus's Aldebaran star is 36° and slightly westbound. This fact will make the contellation easier to find. Perseus The Notable Two Autumn Constellations: - Andromeda - Pegasus Pegasus is the largest of all constellations and appears high in the autumn sky. It's most notable and easily recognizable feature is the giant "square" or "box" that appears in the sky. When the Andromeda constellation is included as part of Pegasus, it covers altuitudes of 48° above the southern horizon, stretching all the way to the skies zenith and beyond to 69° over the north horizon.

That's 63° of the sky! The Andromeda constellation, often considered to be an extension of Pegasus are those stars in the upper left section of the picture seen bellow that reach away from the main "square" of Pegasus. Mirach and Almach are its two brightest stars at 2.06 and 2.10 in magnitude. Pegasus and Andromeda The Notable Four Spring Constellations: - Leo - Hercules - Corona Borealis - Bootes Leo is yet another constellation that looks like its name implies. Leo, "the Lion," is east of the Gemini Constellation and peaks in the early night in early spring. It's Alpha star, Regulus, is a common and well known star used for navigation. At 1.36 magnitude and whitish blue in color, it will rise to an altitude of 59° above the southern horizon at its peak above south. Leo Corona Borealis and Bootes are two constellations that lie right next to each other in the night sky. In the picture bellow, Bootes is the larger constellation and Corona Borealis is the smaller constellation to the lower left that is made up of only 4 stars.

The brightest star of Corona Borealis is Alphecca at 2.22 magnitude. Its a white star that lies 69° above the southern horizon at its peak. The only other named star in the constellation is Nusakan at 3.66 magnitude. Bootes, on the other hand, is a bit larger and much easier to see. Although, if you find Bootes you'll be able to find Borealis. Arcturus, a famously bright star and the Alpha star of Bootes is -.05 in magnitude and lies 67° above the southern horizon line when at 41°N latitude. It is an old, dying out, orange star but it is still very bright. Bootes and Corona Borealis Hercules, a riser of late spring is another less well known constellation as it only has one "named" star. That star is Kornephoros. As the Alpha star, it is only 2.78 in magnitude, relatively dim, and bolsters a light orange color as it is a dying star. The Hercules constellation rises just before Lyra and if you can locate the star Vega, look westward and you'll find Hercules.

It lies directly above the Serpins constellation and the Opheus constellation (both of which are not covered in this article) Hercules Transitioning Skies The main constellations of a particular season can been seen during other season but at different times of the night. The transitions between seasons are gradual but have a great affect on when and where you'll see a constellation in the sky. For example, the Leo constellation in mid winter (mid January) will be low in the east sky at, lets say, 10:00pm. However, by spring (mid March) at 10:00pm it will be high in the sky and will reach its peak above the southern horizon. This fact is true of all non-circumpolar objects and stars. Another example would be the Orion constellation. If Orion rises reaches its peak above south at 11:00pm in mid December it will be at peak above the southern horizon at 5:00pm in mid March. Oppositely, it will be at peak above south at 5:00 am in mid September.

These two examples go to show how changes in the seasons, months, days - however you want to measure it - affect what you see in the sky. The Moon The moon cycles every 29.5 days, so roughly one month. The moon's shapes change due to the movements of the moon about the earth and the earth about the sun - their relative positions in space and time. However, the moon does not revolve around an axis as does the earth, so we will only ever see one side of the moon. Only a lucky few have seen the dark side of the moon...and yes, we're all thinking Floyd right now. Unlike stars, which generate their own light, the moon reflects sunlight, and that is why we are able to see it. A Shot I took of the Full Moon in November, 2007. The beginning of the moon's cycle is the "New Moon" phase. This is when you can seen no moon in the sky at all. In this phase, the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun. In a counter-clockwise manner, the Moon orbits the Earth and slowly reveals itself. The phases of the moon are as follows: 1. New Moon 2.

Waxing Crescent 3. First Quarter 4. Waxing Gibbous 5. Full Moon 6. Wanning Gibbous 7. Third Quarter 8. Wanning Crescent - and then back to New Moon. Waxing means the Moon is "growing." Wanning means the Moon is getting smaller. Really, this means you see more or less. As it waxes you see more illumination. As it wanes you see less illumination. The Moon will always wax and wane from right to left. Bellow is a copy of the Moon Phases taken from physicsforums.com Moon Phases The Milky Way The Milky Way is not simply a celestial object, its a galaxy - the center of our galaxy! Our solar system is in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun, which is a star, is one of trillions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. However, when we look up at the sky and see that long band of stars that stretch from horizon to horizon we are looking into the center of the galaxy. This band is made up of trillions of stars, most of which can't be seen. Gallaxies are a difficult concept to consider.

Essentially, space is filled with galaxies and galaxies are filled with stars and planets - and many other objects. Other Celestial Object: Galaxies, Nebulas, Star Clusters More Details and Info coming soon In this section I've listed just a few of the more interesting celestial objects that are visible to the naked eye. Of these objects are the Pleiades star cluster, Orion's Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. Pull out a pair of binoculars for an even better viewing! The Pleiades Star Cluster is part of the Tuarus constellation. Pleiades Star Cluster The Orion Nebula is, obviously, part of the Orion constellation. The Orion Nebula Meteors - What is a Shooting Star? A Shooting Star, scientifically known as a "Meteor" or "Meteoroid," is simply space debris or objects such as rocks falling through the Earth's atmosphere. Even tiny grains of material, similar to sand, can cause the large streaks across the sky as it enters the atmosphere.

Effectively, the debris and other matter are burning and disintigrating as they head towards the ground and break through the upper atmosphere - this is why the Space Shuttle has a heat shield for when it re-enters Earth, to prevent it from simply breaking up and disintigrating. Thus, the streak you see in the sky aren't really "shooting stars," they're bits and pieces of matter from space breaking up and leaving a trail of "dust" as they enter the atmosphere. On average, one can see four to five meteors in an hour. However, debris is falling towards Earth every minute!

Question: What is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere of the sky?
Answer: SIRIUS